UK unemployment rate, aged 16 and over

Unemployed people aged 16 and over as a share of the economically active population of that age, seasonally adjusted. Monthly figures are averages of the three months ending in the month shown (Labour Force Survey).

Unit: % of the economically active population aged 16+ Frequency: Monthly Coverage: United Kingdom, February 1971 to July 2026 Source: ONS

Trend over time

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United Kingdom

% of the economically active population aged 16+. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

UK unemployment rate, aged 16 and over (% of the economically active population aged 16+), January 2017 to July 2026 – most recent 40 periods; the CSV has all of them
Period United Kingdom
July 2026 4.7%
June 2026 4.9%
May 2026 4.9%
April 2026 4.9%
March 2026 4.9%
February 2026 5.0%
January 2026 4.9%
December 2025 5.2%
November 2025 5.2%
October 2025 5.1%
September 2025 5.1%
August 2025 5.0%
July 2025 4.8%
June 2025 4.7%
May 2025 4.7%
April 2025 4.7%
March 2025 4.6%
February 2025 4.6%
January 2025 4.5%
December 2024 4.4%
November 2024 4.4%
October 2024 4.4%
September 2024 4.2%
August 2024 4.3%
July 2024 4.1%
June 2024 4.2%
May 2024 4.2%
April 2024 4.4%
March 2024 4.4%
February 2024 4.3%
January 2024 4.2%
December 2023 4.1%
November 2023 3.9%
October 2023 4.0%
September 2023 4.0%
August 2023 4.1%
July 2023 4.3%
June 2023 4.4%
May 2023 4.2%
April 2023 4.0%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

About this measure

Definition
Unemployed people aged 16 and over as a share of the economically active population of that age, seasonally adjusted. Monthly figures are averages of the three months ending in the month shown (Labour Force Survey).
Unit
% of the economically active population aged 16+
Frequency
Monthly
Changes are shown as
Percentage points (the difference between two rates)

Before comparing

  • Survey response rates have fallen in recent years; the ONS advises caution with recent Labour Force Survey estimates.

Source and dates

Original producer
ONS
Source
Office for National Statistics (ONS), United Kingdom
Dataset or series code
MGSX · dataset details
Observation period
February 1971 to July 2026
Provider update
19 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution
Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

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